For family visits and reunions, TorontoAirportTransfer.services collects relatives at Pearson with flight tracking and 60 minutes of included waiting after an international landing. Planning figures from Pearson to Brampton are $100–130 in a business sedan; an executive SUV or luxury van for six people and six bags is about 25–30 % more, and meet and greet for elderly parents adds $25–35.
Family visit airport pickup: the arrival your relatives will remember
When parents or grandparents fly across the world to visit, the first half hour after they clear customs sets the tone for the whole trip. They are tired, often after 14 or more hours in the air, they may not know the airport, and they are carrying months of gifts in oversized suitcases. A family visit airport pickup takes that half hour off their shoulders and off yours.
Many of our family bookings are made by adult children living in the GTA who cannot leave work on a weekday afternoon, or who simply want their parents met properly rather than circling the terminal loop looking for a parking spot. We flight-track the arrival, the chauffeur is waiting when they come out, and you get a text when they are in the car.
Planning fares for family arrivals
Fares are one way from Pearson, all-in, with HST shown separately. The reservation engine prices your exact address, date and vehicle before you confirm.
| Destination | Business sedan (3 pax / 3 bags) | Executive SUV or luxury van (6 / 6) |
|---|---|---|
| Brampton | $100–130 | about +25–30 % |
| Mississauga | $90–120 | about +25–30 % |
| Scarborough | $145–175 | about +25–30 % |
| Markham | $145–180 | about +25–30 % |
| Vaughan | $115–145 | about +25–30 % |
| Hamilton | $195–240 | about +25–30 % |
| Kitchener-Waterloo | $265–325 | about +25–30 % |
A 14-seat Sprinter is roughly 2.2 times the sedan figure and is the right call when a whole branch of the family arrives together. See all bands on the rates page.
Choosing a vehicle: it is usually about the luggage
The seat count is rarely the problem on family arrivals; the suitcases are. Long-haul economy tickets commonly include two large checked bags per person, so two grandparents with four full-size cases, two carry-ons and a box of sweets will not fit a sedan's boot. Check your relatives' tickets and count the bags, not the people.
As a rule of thumb, a business sedan takes three passengers and three bags, an executive SUV or luxury van six and six, and a Sprinter 14 and 14. When in doubt, choose the larger vehicle; the extra cost is small compared with a second car. The luxury SUV service page shows the Escalade, Navigator and Suburban we use.
Meet and greet for elderly parents
The standard fare includes curbside pickup at Pearson's pre-arranged commercial pickup area, which means your relatives walk out of the arrivals hall and phone the chauffeur. For many older travellers, especially those who do not speak English, do not carry a Canadian phone or are nervous about airports, that is too much to ask after a long flight.
Meet and greet solves it. The chauffeur waits inside the arrivals hall with a name board, meets them as they come through, takes the luggage trolley and walks them to the car. It is an add-on with a planning figure of $25–35, and we recommend it for any relative over 70 or travelling alone for the first time. Details are on our airport meet and greet page.
Wheelchair assistance from the aircraft to the car
Many elderly visitors request wheelchair assistance through their airline, which covers the journey from the aircraft through the terminal. Pearson publishes its own accessibility information. Tell dispatch when a relative has booked airline wheelchair assistance: these passengers often come out later than the rest of the flight, so we plan waiting time around it.
A folding wheelchair or walker fits in the boot of an SUV or van, and the chauffeur helps with the transfer from the chair to the seat. Relatives who cannot transfer can travel in a ramp-equipped vehicle; see wheelchair accessible transfers.
Long-haul arrivals from India, the Philippines, China and beyond
The GTA's largest family flows come from South Asia, East Asia, the Caribbean and Europe, and each has its own rhythm. Flights from Delhi and Mumbai often land at Pearson early in the morning or late at night; flights from Manila and Hong Kong land after very long sectors; Caribbean arrivals cluster on weekends. Our pages on arrivals from Delhi, Manila and Hong Kong explain what those arrivals are like.
Immigration and baggage on a busy international bank can take anything from 30 minutes to well over an hour. Our 60 minutes of included waiting starts from actual landing; after that, waiting is charged in 15-minute blocks, and we tell you before it starts.
Entry documents: what visitors should check before they fly
Entry rules are the family's responsibility, and they change, so always check official sources. Most visa-exempt visitors flying to Canada need an eTA; US citizens do not; many other nationalities need a visitor visa. Parents and grandparents planning long stays should read about the options on the IRCC website, which include a super visa for eligible parents and grandparents.
At Pearson, the Advance Declaration via ArriveCAN is optional and can speed up the kiosks. Visitors bringing food, especially meat, dairy, fruit and plants, must declare it to the Canada Border Services Agency; undeclared food is one of the most common reasons family arrivals are delayed.
Multi-generation pickups: several flights, one plan
Reunions often mean relatives landing on different flights on the same day: an aunt from London at 1 p.m. at Terminal 3, grandparents from Delhi at 2:30 at Terminal 1, cousins from Calgary at 4. Dispatch can plan this as separate cars or as one larger vehicle that collects in sequence, and will tell you which is cheaper and which is kinder to the people who landed first.
Relatives who land early can wait comfortably in the arrivals area or ride the free Terminal Link train between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 to join the others. Use the terminal finder to confirm each airline's terminal before you book.
Children, car seats and family luggage
Cousins with small children need seats. Infant, convertible and booster seats are available on request; add them at booking. Ontario's rules exempt some vehicles for hire, but we fit a proper seat for every child who needs one, and the child car seat transfers page explains the options.
Strollers, portable cots and car-seat bags all take boot space, so count them with the suitcases. Two adults, two children, four checked bags and a stroller is an SUV or van booking.
Reunion days: shuttles between homes, halls and hotels
A family reunion weekend often has a main event, such as a dinner at a banquet hall in Mississauga, a picnic in a conservation area or a religious gathering, with relatives spread across several homes and a hotel near the airport. A Sprinter on an hourly booking can run loops between them so elders do not have to drive after dark.
Hourly planning figures are $130–150/h for a sedan, $160–190/h for an SUV or van and $225–270/h for a Sprinter, all with a three-hour minimum. For 24 or more guests, a partner coach is priced in writing by a coordinator. Our Sprinter group transportation page explains the loops.
Sightseeing with visiting parents
Visiting parents usually want to see Niagara Falls, the CN Tower and perhaps a temple, church or cultural centre important to the family. A day with a chauffeur lets them see the sights at their own pace, with the car waiting instead of long walks from parking lots.
A Niagara day on an hourly booking typically runs eight to nine hours from Toronto, including the drive, a boat or viewing stop, lunch and time in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Our Niagara Falls tours from Toronto page lays out the day, and Toronto city tours cover a slower day in town.
Keeping the family informed during the pickup
The booker receives the chauffeur's name and phone number the day before, plus a text when the flight lands and another when the passengers are in the car. If your parents have a WhatsApp number that works abroad, add it to the booking; the chauffeur can message them in the arrivals hall.
If you want the chauffeur to call you on speakerphone so your parents hear a familiar voice before they get in, ask. It is a small thing that makes nervous travellers much more comfortable.
The return trip to Pearson
At the end of the visit, the departure matters as much. Long-haul flights usually need a check-in at least three hours ahead, and elderly travellers with wheelchair assistance should arrive earlier still. Our how early to arrive at Pearson guide sets out the timings; book the return at the same time as the arrival, so it is settled before they land.
Drop-offs are curbside at the departures level of the correct terminal. The chauffeur will unload and, if asked, find a trolley and walk elderly passengers to the airline counter.
Winter arrivals and first-time visitors
Relatives flying in from warm climates between November and March are often shocked by a Toronto winter. Tell them to keep a coat, hat and gloves in their hand luggage rather than in a checked suitcase; the walk from the arrivals doors to the commercial pickup area is short but exposed. The chauffeur brings the car warm, and with meet and greet he can hold the coats while they come through.
Snow and freezing rain slow the 401 and 427, and deicing at Pearson can delay departures and arrivals alike. Flight tracking absorbs the late landing; the drive itself may simply take longer, which is part of the fixed fare rather than an extra charge. Check the forecast on Environment Canada before your relatives travel, and pack a warm layer in the car for them if you are riding along.
Booking and cancellation for family arrivals
Book through the reservation engine with the flight number, the passengers' names and a contact number. If a flight is cancelled or rebooked, tell dispatch; changes to the pickup are free, subject to availability. The sitewide cancellation rule is measured from the scheduled pickup: more than 72 hours before, no charge; 72 hours or less, 10 %; 48 hours or less, 50 %; 24 hours or less or a no-show, 100 %.
